Plevna Tornado Victims Left Without Federal Aid as Damage Falls Short of Threshold
June 9, 2025
PLEVNA, Kan. — Residents of this small Reno County town are rebuilding from an EF-3 tornado without federal disaster assistance after damage failed to meet state thresholds for relief funding.
Nine homes were destroyed when the tornado struck Plevna weeks ago, but the total damage didn't reach the $300,000 minimum required for public assistance, leaving Reno County ineligible for state relief programs.
"It's just a total loss. Everything," said homeowner Jason Wingert, whose house suffered extensive damage. "When those windows got blown in, it transferred the storm inside the house. Everything is just like a giant blender."
Emergency Management Director Adam Weishaar said the county's damage assessment came up short of triggering state reimbursement programs, forcing residents to depend on donations and community support for recovery efforts.
The state requires counties to meet a $295,000 damage threshold before they can apply for reimbursement. Once that benchmark is reached and the state's losses exceed approximately $5 million, officials can seek federal disaster relief.
"Once we meet that $295,000 of county loss, uninsured city loss, we can submit that to the state for reimbursement," Weishaar explained. "The state, once they hit their threshold of approximately $5 million dollars, they can submit that to the federal government for reimbursement."
Despite the financial challenges, Wingert said the community remains resilient.
"It's just devastating when something like this happens, but fortunately, nobody was hurt," he said. "We can always rebuild, can't replace lives."
The tornado struck the town several weeks ago, with cleanup and recovery efforts ongoing as residents work to restore their properties without government assistance.
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